The invention relates to aqueous gels for topical use, which are intended for artificially tanning and/or browning the skin, characterized in that they comprise, in a cosmetically acceptable support, at least one monocarbonyl or polycarbonyl self-tanning agent, at least one water-soluble or water-dispersible, crosslinked or non-crosslinked polymer or copolymer and, at least one tinting agent.
The invention also relates to a cosmetic treatment process for artificially tanning and/or browning the skin, characterized in that it involves contacting the skin with an effective amount of such a composition.
It is known that monocarbonyl or polycarbonyl compounds, for instance isatin, alloxan, ninhydrin, glyceraldehyde, mesotartaric aldehyde, glutaraldehyde, erythrulose and dihydroxyacetone (DHA) are particularly advantageous products that are commonly used in cosmetics as agents for artificially tanning the skin.
When applied to the skin these compounds make it possible to obtain a tanning or brown effect that is more or less similar in appearance to that which may result from prolonged exposure to sunlight (natural tanning) or under a UV light. Such a use also has the advantage of totally avoiding the risks of cutaneous reaction generally associated with the abovementioned prolonged exposures (erythemas, burns, loss of elasticity, appearance of wrinkles, premature ageing of the skin, and the like).
Aqueous gels are particularly desired in cosmetics on account of their provision of water, which gives a pleasant sensation of freshness to the skin and due to the fact that they do not have a greasy feel. One problem associated with the use of aqueous self-tanning compositions, particularly those which are already tinted, is their tendency to stain clothes during, and/or after, application onto a user's skin.
Yet another problem associated with the use of aqueous self-tanning compositions, especially those based on polycarbonyl compounds such as dihydroxyacetone (DHA), is their lack of storage stability. For example, the stability of an aqueous self-tanning composition containing DHA typically drops approximately 30 to 40% over a period of eight weeks.
Another problem addressed by the present invention relates to the tendency of tanning composition to peel and/or pill on a user's skin during application of the composition. The friction resulting from rubbing the tanning composition onto the skin oftentimes results in the composition peeling and/or pilling on the skin.
There is thus a need to find a novel self-tanning composition based on a monocarbonyl or polycarbonyl compound in the form of an aqueous gel, which does not have the drawbacks defined above and which has good cosmetic properties, i.e., non-runny feel, non-peeling/pilling, fresh effect and good self-tanning efficacy on the skin (intensity and staying power for the coloration).
Thus, after considerable research conducted in this matter, the Applicant has now found, entirely surprisingly and unexpectedly, that it is possible to achieve these objectives by using a gelling agent comprised of at least one water-soluble or water-dispersible, crosslinked or non-crosslinked polymer or copolymer.